Sonic's Christmas Blast 2
by Toni The Mink
Summary: Not so much a sequel, but a re-written version of the original, done in NAoStH style. When Santa is kidnapped by "Robotnik Claus", Sonic and pals set out to rescue him... AND learn the true meaning behind Christmas. Slight SonAmy
1. Chapter 1

Everyone was busily preparing for the holidays in the Town of Merryville, as Christmas was only two days away and that meant last minute shopping for some. For others, however, it meant the arrival of Santa Claus, and thus, the arrival of piles and piles of gifts. For the people of Mobius, Christmas was all about the receiving of presents.

Many of these poor souls had lost the true meaning... including the world's favorite blue hero.

"All RIGHT!!" Sonic jumped in the air, shooting his fist towards the sky in excitement, "It's here again!! Christmas, my most favorite holiday of the year.... next to my birthday, of course. And what better way to celebrate it than in Merryville, just south of the North Pole!"

Tails rushed up to the hedgehog's side. "We get presents every year, Sonic," he told his hero, "But you seem more excited than usual this time."

"And for good cause, little buddy," said Sonic, "I know this year I'm gonna get those super high endurance cleats I've had my eye on since last January."

"What do you think I'll get?"

"You can get whatever you ask Santa for," Sonic replied, "This is the special time of year where you ask Santa Claus for anything and everything you want. There's nothing better than opening all those presents. It's what makes Christmas merry. GAH!!!"

Suddenly, Sonic became a flat, blue pancake, courtesy of the Piko Piko Hammer held by his friend Amy. "Sonic, don't corrupt him!!"

Tails was in utter shock. "A... Amy!" he gasped, "You hit Sonic with your hammer! You never hit Sonic with your hammer! You must really REALLY be angry with him.... Did he forget to buy you something?"

Amy shook her head. "No, no," she groaned, "You guys are missing the point completely! There HAPPENS to be more to Christmas than just getting presents, you know?"

Sonic pulled himself out of his street-pizza state and jumped to his feet. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Well, maybe perhaps the holiday spirit?!" the pink hedgehog snapped, "The happiness of us being together? The warm feelings we get when we _give_ and receive, rather than just receive? Our true Christmas present is that we're together!"

"Well yeah, but.... we're together ALL the time," said Sonic, "This is the one time where we give each other presents."

"True," Amy responded, "But you have to remember _why_ we give each other presents. Because we love each other and want to make ourselves happy."

Tails frowned. "Boy, does that sound corny..."

"Okay Ames," said Sonic, "You wanna make my Christmas? How about you manage to _not_ grab me and drool all over me for an hour or so?" At that, he and Tails broke into chuckles.

Amy grew a grumpy face and turned away. "Fine! If that's what you want for Christmas, I'll leave you alone! In fact, I won't talk to you for the entire holiday!!"

"Gosh, you'd do that for me..?" Sonic faked an empathy look.

Amy huffed and stormed off.

Tails watched as she left, his face turning from amusement to worry. "Gosh Sonic," he said, "Amy sure looked upset there. I hope you didn't hurt her feelings."

"Aw, you know Amy," Sonic sighed, "She won't go 10 minutes without being in my personal space. Besides, who's she to tell us that Christmas isn't about gifts? She's the biggest shopoholic I've ever known, usually buying gifts for herself all year round. If she thinks she's going off without getting us the coolest presents in the world, then maybe _she_ needs to learn the true meaning...."

* * *

"BAH HUMBUG!!!!" Dr. Robotnik's voice bellowed throughout the fortress from his lab.

His top Badniks, Scratch and Grounder, wasted no time racing in to check on the overweight overlord. "Excuse us, your vileness," squawked Scratch, the tall robot-chicken, "But do you have some sort of cold?"

"We'd call you a doctor, but you already are one," said Grounder.

"No, you idiotic imbeciles!" Robotnik roared back at them, "Do you not see the date?! It's the 23rd of December!"

"Uh oh..." Scratch murmured, "Your mother's birthday?"

"No, even worse!" cried Grounder, "It's the start of our vacation!!"

"NO!" Robotnik screamed, "First off, I NEVER grant you vacation days! Second, it's two days before Christmas, you pathetic excuses for Artificial Intelligence!"

"Ohhh..." the Badniks looked to each other, then grinned and danced around, "IT'S CHRISTMAS!!!" they sang, "It's Christmas, it's Christmas, we're gonna get presents!!! We're gonna get presents!!"

"SHUT UP!" the doctor shouted loud enough to nearly bring the roof down, "There is nothing to celebrate! This is the most HORRID time of the year. Every night, that blasted coot Santa Claus has the audacity to bring me COAL!!! I'm the greatest scientific genius of all time. For what reason do I ever deserve coal?!"

"What about the gifts that Santa _doesn't_ bring you?" asked Scratch.

"MORON!" Robotnik shouted, "He DOESN'T bring me gifts!!!"

"I mean, gifts from other people.... Last year, Grounder got me a year's supply of 10-W-40."

"And Scratch gave me a stapler!" Grounder held up a stapler, cuddling it against his cheek, "I love this stapler..."

"ENOUGH!!!" Robotnik screamed once more. This time, a piece of the ceiling fell out, and crashed on his head. He muttered various curses as he rubbed his throbbing skull. "Enough of you... and enough of CHRISTMAS!!! I am tired of receiving coal, and pointless pieces of metal by my pointless pieces of metals, otherwise known as Badniks!!! This year, things are going to be different!"

"How so?" Scratch asked.

"Are you finally going to shape up and be a good boy?" said Grounder.

"Heavens no!" Robotnik laughed, "I'm going to permanently change the rules of being naughty and nice...." He pulled out a sheet of blue prints, containing carefully laid out plans, despite he just thought up the idea a second ago. "I am taking over the North Pole!"

* * *

"Hurry up, elves!" Santa Claus called, "Take off is in twelve hours. We need to finish our preparations. Angie, do you have all the toys separated for each child?"

"Yes sir," a tiny female elf checked off on her checklist.

"What about coal? None of it got mixed with the presents, did they?"

"No, sir," she responded in her high-pitched voice, "Everything was checked twice. In fact, the only person who will be receiving coal this year is Dr. Robotnik."

"Ah, some things never change," Santa smiled, "And how about our... 'fuel'?"

"Got it right here, Santa!" the little elf held up a shiny blue gem.

Santa took a hold of it, laughing jolly as always. "Perfect. In that case, everything is about in order. Just prepare the reindeer, and then all we have to do is wait..."

"Not quite, Kringle..."

"Who-?!" Santa and Angie turned to face the devious face of Dr. Robotnik. "Angie, call for a red alert!! Intruder! Whoever you are, leave immediately! We must prepare for Christmas!"

"Oh there'll be preparations," Robotnik sneered, as an army of giant burly robots approached behind him, followed by an enormous tank with the letter "R" painted on the side. "MY preparations..." he pointed to the jolly round guy, "GRAB THEM!!!"

The robots charged forward. Santa quickly managed to shove the blue gem into his hat before he and Angie were taken hold of. Badniks began swarming the North Pole, taking most elves and reindeer hostage. They invaded the many homes and stormed into the toy factory, seizing wrapped gifts, toys, and clothing.

"Stop all of this, Robotnik!" Santa cried as the robots forced him towards the tank, "Take off is in 12 hours! Somebody needs to deliver these presents!"

"Oh don't you worry your little red cheeks about it," Robotnik snided, "Those presents will be delivered... to myself! Think of it as payback for all that coal you sent me!"

"You deserved it!" Santa shouted, "You've been nothing but naughty all your life. You're the naughtiest boy I ever had on my naughty list!!"

"Perhaps a lifetime of imprisonment in my ice dungeon shall change your opinion!" Robotnik hissed, "Take him away!!! This year, Christmas will be all mine!!!"

"ROBOTNIK!" Santa screamed as robots grabbed him and tossed him in the rear of the tank, "You may lock me away, you may take all the presents for yourself... But you will NEVER take Christmas away from everyone!"


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, people were rushing around the city busier and crazier than before. It was Christmas Eve, and therefore only one day left for shopping. As much as she didn't condone to it, Amy had some last minute shopping to do herself, so she decided to go to Merryville's #1 shopping center "Stacey's".

There was a huge crowd surrounding the building, gazing up at a giant TV monitor with a message on the screen that read "Please Stand By For An Important Message". Everyone knew that it was from the big jolly man himself. Amy nudged her way through the crowd, stopping by a young boy, who was tugging on his mother's parka. "When Santa comes on TV, do I get to tell him what I want? Do I??"

"Y'know kid," Amy groaned, "There IS more to Christmas than Santa giving you presents..."

"Christmas NOT about getting presents??" the boy looked at Amy in horror, but immediately burst into laughter. "Haw haa ha haa!! Gimme a break!!"

"Ho ho hooo!" a voice rang out to the crowd, amplified by the speakers of the monitor screen. "Merry Christmas!!" The crowd cheered and applauded at the sight of Jolly Old Saint Nick, riding in his infamous red sleigh. He hopped out and waved to the camera, as if to wave to the crowd. "Season's greetings, to all my friends everywhere. It is my pleasure to be here today, to announce my retirement."

The crowd made a silent gasp. Amy's eyes were as wide as saucers. "What??"

The boy's mother turned to Amy and shoved a finger to her mouth. "Shh!"

The little boy had tears in his eyes. "No, Santa, please! It's too sad..." Amy couldn't help but wrap her arms around his shoulders comfortingly.

"Don't be sad," said Santa, "This is happy news! This Christmas will be the best Christmas ever!! The most wonderful person in the whole world will be taking my place. He's jolly, he's generous, he's just right for the job!"

"Who could possible be more jolly and generous than Santa?" Amy muttered. The boy nodded in agreement.

"Mothers, fathers, boys and girls!" Santa raised his arms, "I proudly introduce my replacement, your friend and mine.... Robotnik Claus!!!"

"RoBOTNIK Claus?!" Amy gasped.

Robotnik jumped in front of the camera and danced around, while waving and bowing towards the camera to the audiences watching. Scratch and Grounder were in the corner of the studio, cheer-leading and singing various chants.

"Robotnik Claus likes MY cheers best!" squawked Scratch.

"Aw, did not!" Grounder cried, "My cheers were cheerier!"

"I boo your cheers!"

"Thank you, my dear friends," Robotnik smiled, "It is with humble heart that I gladly accept this well deserved honor from my dear friend, Santa."

That big obvious lie was the first hint for Amy to know something was definitely not right here.

"And I pledge to you that I will carry on Santa's work in the best tradition of the Christmas season," Robotnik continued, "However..." he pointed to the camera, "You MAY notice just a few small changes... Ha ha, ho..."

The crowd murmured amongst each other, mostly in disapproval. "This is bogus!!" the little boy cried, "Does that guy take us for morons?? I can't believe Santa's letting him do this..."

Amy patted his back. "Don't you worry kid," she said, "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this.

* * *

"Attention all shoppers!!" Scratch shouted in a megaphone, "Only children may line up to see Robotnik Claus. I repeat, children only!! All parents must shop for presents to give to Robotnik Claus! Children Only!!"

"Go on, get outta here, brat!!" Robotnik sent a poor younger boy on his way, crying rivers, racing away from the chair while screaming how mean the new Santa was. "Next!!"

Amy, who was waiting in a rather short line, considering that this was supposed to be Santa Claus and the lines were normally past the town border, raced up and practically did a cannon ball on the fat dictator's lap, making sure to put in all her weight on impact.

"Ooof!!" he cried, "My, what a... _healthy_, young girl you are... GAH!" Robotnik did a double take when he noticed just who this particular little girl was. It was the annoying pink brat who, for some odd reason or another, was in love with his arch nemesis, Sonic the Hedgehog. Was she on to him? He'd have to play along. "And, uh, what do you plan on giving Robotnik Claus for Christmas, young lady?"

Amy smiled sweetly. "Oh Robotnik Claus! There's only one thing I can think of ever giving you..."

"And what's that, sweetie?"

"THIS!" Amy slammed her hammer hard on Robotnik's head. "How dare you try to steal Christmas!! You really think we're going to sit around and let you ruin the holidays?? We won't let you! Now what did you REALLY do to Santa?? He's too much a nice guy to let you take charge!"

"HELPER ELVES!! COME QUICKLY!!!"

Before Amy could give Robotnik another good slam, Scratch managed to grab the head of the mallet and yank it out of her grip. As she reached up to grab it back, she instead was grabbed behind by Grounder's claw and held tightly.

"Take her to my robot making factory!!" Robotnik ordered, "Perhaps THAT will teach her some Christmas spirit."

Grounder took the squirming Amy away, while she kicked and screamed for help. All the children were too frightened to do anything however. The little boy, whom Amy had met earlier, took the opportunity during the commotion to sneak out of line and far away from Robotnik Claus as possible.

"And let THAT be a lesson to you brats if you decide you don't want to buy me any presents," Robotnik laughed, "HO HO ho ho hahhahahaaaa!!!!"

* * *

"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" said Sonic, "ALL of your presents are gone??"

"Sold out, I'm afraid," the clerk-lady told him, "It was such a mad rush to get the last stock. But not only that... most of it was stolen overnight!"

"Stolen??" Tails cried, "What kinda grinch would steal things on Christmas??"

"People desperate to get presents on the holidays," Sonic responded, "Can you believe how low some people will go? Hrm, maybe Amy did have a point about presents being too much of a big deal..."

* * *

"Merry Christmas, citizen!" chimed Grounder, at the house of a Merryville citizen alongside Scratch.

"We have come with our hearts," announced Scratch, "FILLED with Christmas giving!"

"Yeah... so start giving!"

The man at the door nearly broke into tears and fell to his knees. "Please!" he begged, "I lost my job, my poor wife is sick, I had to sell ALL my furniture to pay the bills, the house is completely empty!" He fell over and began sobbing.

This didn't phase the Badniks one bit. "Well, that makes things easy," Grounder grinned.

Scratch nodded. "Right. No problem," he assured, wagging his finger, "We'll just take your house!"

Grounder's hand retracted into a whistle, and he blew onto it hard. Almost immediately did a large tank with an enormous claw drive in, clamping the poor man's house out of the ground and taking off with it.

"Ho ho ho!" Scratch laughed while the man sobbed some more.

"Ho ho ho HO!" Grounder joined in.

But Scratch didn't want to be out-"hoed". He picked up his little brother, shoved his face into his, and screamed, "Oh yeah?! Well, ho ho, ho ho ho, HO!!!"

* * *

"I don't get it," Sonic scratched his head while observing the deserted Stacey's store, "This is the fourth store in a row that's totally empty! Even the PEOPLE are gone!"

Tails' ears perked at the sound of machinery nearby, and he flew over to the window for a better look. "Sonic, come quick!" he called over after peeking outside. Sonic was there in a heartbeat, and let out a small gasp.

Outside in the back of the store were rows of trucks and conveyor belts, loaded with merchandise being carried into the trucks by armies of robots. "Now THAT'S shop lifting," said Sonic.

"Good work, fellow bots!" the lead Badnik announced, "And now we will deliver these presents to jolly old Robotnik Claus."

The armies climbed into their respective trucks and drove off. The two heroes watched as they passed by. "Did he say 'Robotnik Claus'?!" exclaimed Tails.

"He did," Sonic responded, as he turned and raised his foot ready to run, "And something THIS weird needs checking out."

He tore out of the store. Tails twirled his namesakes quickly to catch up.

* * *

The little boy quickly ducked back into the ally he was hiding in as one of Robotnik's trucks drove by. He cautiously peeked back out, just in time to see a blue blur about to whiz by. Could it be him?!

"Mister Sonic!" he cried, waving out. "Mister Soooniiiic!!"

On a dime, Sonic skidded to a halt and sped backwards to where the boy was standing. "I don't know any 'Mister Sonic's," he smiled, "But it sounds like you need help."

"It's your friend Amy who needs help," said the boy.

"What?!" Sonic cried as Tails landed nearby. "What happened?"

"Everything is just terrible!" the boy moaned, "First Santa retired, THEN he put Robotnik Claus in his place. He says he wants all the presents to himself!"

"That IS terrible!" exclaimed Tails.

"What about Amy?" said Sonic, concern ringing in his voice.

"She got captured and put into Robotnik's robot making factory," the boy explained, "I managed to get away, but now his Badniks are after me!"

Tails' keen ears once again picked up the sound something roaring closer, and turned in time to see one of Robotnik's tanks barreling their way. "Watch it!" he cried, pushing Sonic and the boy into the safety of the alley, just as the tank rolled on right by them.

Sonic watched as the tank disappeared down the street. "Did you say Santa put Robotnik Claus in his place?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Yeah," the boy responded, "And you gotta find Santa an' tell him how wrong he was." He held up his hands in a pleading manner. "Please make him come back so we can have Christmas the way it should be."

Sonic smirked. "It wouldn't be Christmas without my pal Amy wanting to catch me under the mistletoe," he said, throwing his fist in the air, "I've gotta save her so I CAN save Christmas."

Suddenly, the sound of a familiar cackling from a certain robot chicken broke through the air. "Too late for that, turkeys!"

"Yeah, MUCH too late!" shouted another familiar voice. "Heeheehee!"

The twisted around to find a giant, green, Robotnik-made crane-tank pull up to them. In place of the usual crane, however, was a giant block, wrapped up like a Christmas present... only it had sharp spikes sticking out from the bottom. In the cockpit were none other than Scratch and Grounder, alongside what looked like Santa Claus.

"We took Santa, Amy, and all the others someplace where you'll NEVER find him!" Scratch gloated, and he pointed to the Santa lookalike sitting next to Grounder. "Even BEFORE Robotnik made this fake Santa robot that you saw on TV!"

The bogus Santa waved. "The most wonderful person in the whole world will be taking my place," it repeated, while short-circuiting a bit, "...taking my place... taking my place... ta-ta-taking my- Happy Holidays, my little friends."

"We've got the REAL Santa taken prisoner!" Grounder announcer.

"And you get THIS!" Scratch pulled a larger yellow lever. "Merry CHRUSHmas! Bwahahahaaa!!"

The spiked block dropped from the crane, aimed for our three heroes. The little boy screamed in terror.

Grounder grinned. "And a SMASHING new year!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Bwahahahaaa!" Scratch squawked, in his never-ending roll of puns, "Stuff THIS in your stocking!"

Tails and the boy cried out, grabbing each other as the spiked block dropped towards their heads. Sonic, however, never seemed to panic in life-or-death situations, but rather looked them straight on while spouting a pun of his own. "My socks are rocking!"

In a flash, he grabbed Tails and the boy and pulled them away just before the spiked block could land on them, embedding itself into the pavement. Once out of harm's way, he revved into his notorious super spin attack and used the momentum of his speed to race up one of the buildings close by, jumped off the wall, and landed in the cockpit between Scratch and Grounder, then began preforming another one of his notorious abilities.... pulling random levers.

The spike block retracted from the ground, and the crane began swinging around in circles wildly, just missing the buildings. Finally, it stopped, just hovering above the cockpit. Sonic pulled one last lever before jumping out as Scratch and Grounder finally had the sense to try and grab him.

*CRASH*

Need I explain that the spiked block fell on them and demolished their tank, as well as themselves?

The fake Santa's head bounced across the street. "Ho-ho-ho-ho-Happy Holidayszzz----It's time I hung up my reindeer-- and send my red coat to the barns... *zrrrooo*..."

Fortunately, the Badniks were destroyed so many times they knew how to fix themselves on the spot, and were already trying to attach their limbs to the proper joints.

"Litter patrol!" a small man in a green overcoat came bustling into the street, pushing a cart with a trashcan on top. He surveyed the scene and shook his head, tsking. "You'll have to clean up this entire mess, and pay a fine of ten thousand Mobiums."

"But it wasn't out faaaault!" Grounder whined, while trying to put his head back on his shoulders.

"Yeah!" said Scratch, adjusting his leg, "It was that pesky hedgehog!"

"Really? Pesky??" said the garbage man, as he picked up Grounder's arm and handed it to him. "Brrr.... If it's one thing I hate, it's pesky hedgehogs." Oddly enough, this garbage man looked strikingly familiar to a certain pesky hedgehog that the Badniks hated.

"Aw, thanks!" said Grounder, taking the arm and shoving it back into its socket, "This one's the peskiest."

"D'aww... Lookie here," said the garbageman, "I'll forget the fine, if you tell me where Robotnik Claus' prisoners are at."

"Really??" chimed Grounder, "That's so decent of you!"

"Yeah!" said Scratch, "REALLY decent! They're on an ice island-- D'OOF!"

Grounder shoved him aside. "An island, seven miles north of here, in our robot making factory!"

"Thanks, guys!" said the man as he threw off his overcoat and fake mustache, revealing to be in fact Sonic the Hedgehog, "Now when you pull yourselves together again, jump into this garbage can!" He grabbed the cart and flung it towards the Badniks, who were slow on the uptake, and crashed into another pile of pieces. Having the info he needed, Sonic took a hold of Tails, winked in confidence to the little boy, and took off towards his destination, racing past the decapitated body pieces of Scratch and Grounder.

"I guess we'll have to report this to jolly old Robotnik Claus..." muttered Grounder's head.

"Tell you what, old buddy..." moaned Scratch, "As my Christmas present to you, I'll let YOU do it."

* * *

Armies and armies of robots worked hard and tirelessly building brick chimneys all over Robotnik's fortress. There were so many that they had even begun making them around the fortress ground, and even built into the mountain.

For Robotnik, however, this wasn't nearly enough.

"I want MORE chimneys! MORE!" he roared as he surveyed the progress above in his Egg-o-Matic.

"But Dr. Robotnik Claus," moaned a small, green robot sitting in the passenger cockpit, "We've already built dozens for you."

"I want HUNDREDS!!!" Robotnik loomed into the face of his cronie, "Thousands! Enough so that EVERY citizen of Mobius could come down one on Christmas night and bring me HUGE bags of presents!"

The cronie nodded nervously, "I'll take care of it, doctor.... I'll take care of it immediately."

_"-Mayday, mayday!-" _Grounder's voice buzzed through the intercom, _"-I'm afraid we have a slight problem, your Happy Holidayness...-"_

_

* * *

  
_

"You incompetent fools!" Robotnik screamed, once he was given the news on Sonic, "I WAS going to send you a Christmas card, but now you get nothing!"

He turned to his cronie-bot. "Listen to me, you sniveling, toady robot! Get on the radio and alert the Santa-Sentry-Squadbots to prepare for an attack!" He turned back to Scratch and Grounder, "And you two bolt dolts get up there!" He raised a finger, "This is your chance to deliver me the one Christmas present that will _really_ make me happy."

He grinned maliciously. "Sonic the Hedgehog..."

* * *

Sonic and Tails had managed to make their way to the ice island and were now heading to where the dumbbots said the prisoners were being held. Sonic pushed a dog sled while Tails sat in it, covering himself with his bushy tails.

"Brrrr..." he shivered, "I wish we had stopped for my long johns..."

"C'mon, Tails," said Sonic, "It's not like you wear clothes anyway."

Before Tails could make a comeback, his sharp eyes spotted something in the distance. "Sonic! Badniks ahead!"

Sonic screeched to a halt. Over the hill, they could make out several robots, holding laser guns, patrolling what looked like the entrance to some underground cave.

"That's gotta be the robot making factory," stated Sonic.

Unknown to the two, their presence had to have been noticed, as the front gates opened and a large cannon was being wheeled out. The Badniks aimed it to the sky and fired, shooting an enormous, sharp icicle into the air, and landing inches from our heroes.

"Whoa!" cried Sonic, "We're getting a cold reception..."

Two more massive icicles landed on both sides of them. Tails shuddered. "And it's getting colder..."

"Ah, chill out Tails," said Sonic, as he revved into his famous Sonic Spin, "I'll burn those bots!" He crashed through the grounded icicles and broke through the ones still shooting in the air, and landed on the spot right in front of Badniks and the cannon. "Figured I'd come by and break the ice," he retorted as he went into another spin and circled rapidly around the small army several times. Finally, he jumped back, and the Badniks found themselves teetering back and forth, water surrounding them. "Drop in, anytime," the hedgehog cracked as the land they stood on suddenly dropped into the water. A sea lion jumped out, barking and waving its flaps at Sonic happily. Sonic smiled and waved back before rushing into the now unguarded robot factory.

There were even more guards inside than there were out, and all of them were waiting for Sonic. Once he sped in, shots fired all over the place. He had to jump, dodge, and evade at every step. Finally, he raced up the wall, onto the ceiling, and landed in the center. Everyone aimed their guns at the target. Sonic grinned. "Ready, aim, FIRE!"

Everyone shot. But Sonic jumped away in time, and the robots ended up shooting each other. His work done, Sonic continued off in his search.

He ran down the long corridors, wondering how Robotnik could make something so huge on a small island. Eventually, his search brought him to a large hall. Machines were pumping and letting out steam everywhere. Scrap heaps were being picked up by claws and thrown onto conveyor belts, which led from one machine to another as they created the shapes of body parts, and shoved onto one another to create one robot after another.

"Aaaa!"

Sonic's head whipped into the direction of the familiar scream. High above on a catwalk were two known Badniks, dangling a pink hedgehog into the opening of one of the machines.

"Don't like to cooperate do ya?" Ballhog sneered, "Well we've got the perfect gift for you."

"Yeah!" sneered Roller, "A one-way trip into our robot transmogrifier!"

Ballhog snorted. "Now you can be like one of us! Imagine, Sonic's girlfriend on OUR side! How's THAT for irony?"

"Hey dumbbots!"

The two cringed and looked over to see Sonic cringing back, standing just feet away. "She's not my girlfriend."

Nevertheless, Amy was still thrilled to see him. "Sonic!"

"Sonic?!" Ballhog and Roller cried in unison.

"Just wanted to give warm wishes," said Sonic as he spun into the Triple S Spin, "I wish you'd quit picking on my friends!" He plowed into the Badniks, destroying them, and causing Amy to fall towards the machine. Seeing his mistake, Sonic quickly leaped off the catwalk and grabbed a dangling chain, swinging over and catching Amy by the wrist before she could fall in. He swung back up and landed back on the catwalk, Amy in tow, who didn't waste a second grabbing her hero around the neck in a tight hug.

"I got my wish for Christmas!"

"Yeah... what you get _every_ day..." Sonic pried her off, "So where's Santa?"

"He and the elves are one floor below us," Amy responded, "In the dungeons!"

"Lead the way!"

Sonic followed Amy through the hall and out the corridors, down to where the dungeon was located. "Saaantaaa!" she called.

"Amy?" a jolly old voice responded nearby, "Oh, thank goodness you're all right!" Through of one the cell doors, a familiar face poked through, red cheeks, white beard, and all.

"Santa Claus!" Sonic cried, excited.

"Sonic?" Santa glanced over. "_Sonic the Hedgehog?!_ Why I'd never imagine! What an honor it is to be here with you."

"Pleasure's all mine, oh mighty gift-giver!" Sonic playfully bowed as Amy pulled out a set of keys, which she had nabbed from Ballhog, and unlocked Santa's cell. "This is great! Now the world can have a real Christmas!"

"I'm more worried about my elves and reindeer," said Santa, "Let's free them before we head back to my workshop."

It wasn't long before Angie, her elf friends, and all the reindeer were found and rescued. The whole group raced away out of the robot making factory and met Tails outside, holding up pieces of what was once a dog sled.

"Sorry, Sonic," he mewed, "But I almost got ambushed. I fought off some of the Badniks, but they destroyed our sled."

"Fear not," Santa smiled, "We have our OWN way of getting around." He pointed to the side of the factory, as the elves led the reindeer towards the group, pulling along Santa's favorite red sleigh. "Hop on!" he cried, "I'll get us to the North Pole in no time."

"I can get us there even quicker!" Sonic grinned.

The crew, including the reindeer, gathered onto the sleigh, and Sonic grabbed hold from behind. "Hold tight, sprites! Up, over, and GONE!"

In an instant, Sonic was pushing the sleigh through the snow, across the ocean, and towards the North Pole in break-neck speed.

Unfortunately, things were not as easy-going at the North Pole.

Upon racing around and trying to gather everything, the elves had discovered their place had been ransacked.

"Everything is gone, Santa Claus!" Angie reported, "Every toy, every decoration, Robotnik Claus stole them all!"

"Just like he stole everything from all the stores," moaned Tails.

Sonic slammed his fist into his palm. "Robotnik's gonna be the only one to get presents this year! There's gotta be _something_ we can do to stop it!"

"No, Sonic, no..." Santa shook his hands, and his head sadly. "It's hopeless... This year, Christmas is ruined..."


	4. Chapter 4

"C... c'mon, Santa! We can't give up now! We already made it this far!" Sonic pleaded in a panic-stricken voice to Santa, who was moping on a bench, "I can just break into Robuttnik's fortress, take back all the presents, and bring 'em here! Of course, it'll take more than one trip, probably take me a few hours, but still..."

Santa shook his head, further flustering Sonic. "Aw, please, Santa! We've gotta try _something!_ It just isn't Christmas if we don't have presents!"

Santa took Sonic by his waist and lifted him to his eye level. "Listen to yourself, Sonic. Do you even know what you're saying?" he placed the hedgehog next to him on the bench, "With talk like that, you're no better than Robotnik Claus..."

"_What?!" _Sonic exclaimed, confused and a bit offended, "Hey, I'M not the one who stole all the presents for myself, remember??"

Santa sighed. "Sonic, do you know why I deliver presents every year on Christmas?"

Sonic scratched his head. "I dunno.... Bonding contract?"

"No," Santa shook his head, "A long time ago, Merryville was under the control of a villainous burgomaster, much like Dr. Robotnik. He absolutely detested joy and happiness. He even went so far as to outlaw toys and play. It was such a depressing place...

"But one year, I decided to change all that. With the help of my elf friends, we created lots of toys and dolls, and sneaked them in at night for the children." A warm smile crept across Santa's face, the first real smile he made all day. "Ohh, I can remember the warm feeling I got when I saw their happy faces. They've never been so thrilled. So I continued to bring them more toys every year. Soon, people all around Mobius began hearing what I was doing and wanted presents themselves. Of course, I didn't mind, but after so many years..."

Santa's smile began fading, "I've been doing this for so long, people now only expect presents. They've forgotten the whole reason why I've started Christmas: To make people happy."

Sonic's face was filled with realization and guilt. "Yeah, of course," he responded, "In fact, that's the whole reason why I became a rebellious hero against Robotnik to begin with..." he pointed to the man in the red suit. "YOU were my inspiration, Santa!" He rubbed his arm across his eyes, wiping the tears that began to form, "I'm sorry I totally forgot..." Amy took a seat next to Sonic, putting an arm around his shoulder. She figured now was not the time for a big fat "I Told You So".

Tails was sitting on Santa's other side, his chin slumped in his palms. "Man... now_I_feel like we deserve that coal."

Santa patted the little fox on the back. "No you don't, Tails," he assured, "You're all good kids. We just got lost in the true meaning of Christmas... including myself." He slipped off his red hat, as if unworthy to wear it any longer, "I should've retired years ago. Christmas was ruined long before Robotnik Claus took over..."

Tails glanced up at Santa... and noticed a big blue gem on his head. "Santa," he jumped to his feet and pointed, "What's that big jewel on your head?"

"Oh, this?" Santa reached up and took a hold, "I use these to help my reindeer fly. Every year my elves manage to find one for me. It's called a 'Chaos Emerald.'"

"_Chaos Emerald?!_" Sonic, Tails, and Amy cried in unison.

"You've heard of them?" said Santa, "Well, then I guess I don't need to explain just how powerful these things are. I managed to hide it under my hat when Robotnik invaded the North Pole. Believe me, having him steal a Chaos Emerald is MUCH worse than having him steal Christmas."

"Tell me about it," said Sonic. He suddenly bolted upright, an idea striking him like a ton of bricks. "Wait, THAT'S IT!"

"What's it?" asked Amy.

"We can use the Chaos Emeralds to save Christmas!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Sonic, these things may be strong," said Santa, "But one Chaos Emerald isn't enough to help us spread Christmas cheer all over Mobius."

"Maybe not one," Sonic took the emerald from Santa, "But we could with all seven!"

"Seven??"

Sonic nodded.

"What are you getting at, Sonic?" asked Tails. Even the elves began to gather, curious.

"Remember all those things Knuckles told us about the emeralds?" Sonic explained, "Each one contains a massive source of power. But when you put all seven together, you get one mondo power charge! I mean, we're not talking super speed here. We're talking super-SUPER speed!"

Tails got all excited. "Wow, really?!"

"But Sonic," said Santa, "How can we possibly manage find all seven?"

"Take a close look, Santa," Sonic held the blue gem close to the old man's face. Santa adjusted his glasses and looked deep into the emerald. He could make out a swirling cloud energy dancing around inside. "They're magnetically linked, meaning they're attracted to one another. All we have to do is use this gem to find its brother, and so on and so on. It'll be a snap!"

"Even if we did manage to find them all," Santa continued to kill the mood, "My normal takeoff is in less than an hour. We couldn't manage to get back in time with both emeralds AND the presents."

Sonic shook his head, grinning. "Santa, Santa... you forget!" He did his traditional finger wag, "You're dealing with the world's fastest hedgehog!"

"I'm game!" Tails leaped from the bench.

"Me too!" Amy followed suit. "What about you Santa?"

Everyone looked towards him pleadingly. Santa rubbed his chin in deep contemplation. Finally, he rose from the bench, laughing his jolly laugh. "Ho ho ho!" he cried, "Let's go for it!"

* * *

Almost immediately did Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Santa take off in search of the 2nd Chaos Emerald. It didn't take long before they were brought to a tall, steep mountain.

"Here we are," announced Santa, "Icepick Peak."

Tails held up the Chaos Emerald to examine it. "The Chaos Emerald is reacting wildly. There's gotta be one up there." He handed the gem over to Santa. "I can fly up there and grab it."

"No need, Tails," said Sonic, "I've got this. Up, over, and--" The hedgehog raced to the mountain and tried running up it... only to lose his footing and slipped right off. "OOOF!"

Tails couldn't help but snicker. "You were saying?"

Sonic sat up, shaking snow out of his head. "Total embarrassment..."

Amy sighed, and approached Sonic, pulling out a wrapped gift box. "Here Sonic, this is for you."

Sonic jumped to his feet. "Amy, this isn't the time for presents! .... at least wait another hour."

"Just open it!" the pink hedgehog shoved it into his hands.

"All right, all right," Sonic tore off the ribbon, threw aside the lid, and peeked in, his eyes filled with glee. "WOW!" he cried, pulling out a pair of red shoes, identical to the ones he always wore, only there were spikes on the soles, "These are the cleats that I've wanted! But they were sold out for months." He turned to Amy, "How'd you manage to find these?"

"Psssh!" Amy smiled and threw her hand, "I got those back in January, when you first saw them."

"Why'd you wait this long to give 'em to me?"

The girl gave a wink. "I was waiting for the right moment, silly."

Sonic smiled broadly. So THIS was the whole deal behind presents... He grabbed Amy, hugging her tight around the shoulders. "Thanks, Ames."

Amy nearly melted, but found the energy to hug back. "You're welcome... now why don't you try out those puppies!"

Sonic stepped back, kicked off his high-tops, and yanked his new cleats on his feet. "Sweet!" he mused, running in place, "Now let's try this again! Up, over, and GONE!"

In a blink of an eye, Sonic was racing up Icepick Peak, his cleats helping to keep his footing, and in no time he was already at the top, proudly displaying a red Chaos Emerald.

"He did it!" shouted Tails, and the others jumped for joy.

* * *

As fast as he was, Sonic decided that it would be much quicker if they split up in groups and sent Tails and Amy out with one of the emeralds to find the others. Meanwhile, he and Santa Claus were standing over the deep slopes of Calamity Cliffs, almost made for snowboarding.

And Sonic always had a snowboard handy, especially in this time of year.

"Be careful, Sonic," said Santa, "All I want for Christmas is to have your head in one piece."

"Relax, Santa," the hedgehog grinned, "I've done this a hundred times. I could do it in my sleep!"

"Don't do it in your sleep!" Santa cried, "Remember, I can see if you're sleeping and know when you're awake... so don't go pulling any crazy stunts on me!"

Sonic gave a thumbs-up, and hopped off the edge, sliding down the snowy embankments. "Yahoooooo!" He twisted, left and right, hopping over humps and jumping over logs, evading trees from every side.

As he continued onward, he was unaware that he was being watched far off in the distance by two certain Badniks.

"It's that hedgehog, all right!" said Scratch, as he lowered the binoculars and carefully stepped out of the giant bear trap he and Grounder had placed.

The green-tank robot held out a shiny green emerald. "Hehehe! Lucky for us we found this Chaos Emerald! He's probably looking for the same thing. Imagine his reaction when instead of getting this gem, he gets SNAPPED!"

"We got him this time, we got him this time!!!" Scratch sang as he and Grounder danced like loons.

They were so busy celebrating too prematurely, they didn't see Sonic had noticed them. They looked up in time to see Sonic make a sharp turn, splashing snow all over the two and their trap...

***SNAP!***

And wound up getting trapped in their own trap.

Sonic skidded to a halt and jumped from his snow board. He dug through the snow a bit, until he found what he was looking for. "Thanks for finding this, guys," he said, pulling out the green Chaos Emerald, "Makes my job easier. Three down, four to go!" He ran off to join back with Santa Claus.

"This is all your fault!" Scratch muffled to Grounder under the snow.

"Aw, no way, it was your idea!"

They continued to banter back and forth, until Grounder finally shouted at Scratch to shut up and find his head.

* * *

Elsewhere, Tails and Amy explored on with the red emerald, which brought them to a frozen lake. Tails squinted, after seeing a purple sparkle across the lake. "Is that it?"

Amy strained to get a closer look. "It looks kinda colorful... Let's check it out."

She stepped onto the ice, but Tails quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Careful Amy!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Tails knelt down and brushed some of the snow off the surface of the ice to show her. "I dunno how thick this is..."

"Hm..." Amy picked up a rock and threw it at the ice. It didn't crack, only bounced off the surface. "Seems okay so far..."

Tails was still skeptical. "Still... lemme test it first..." He gently pushed her aside, figuring if it was dangerous, at least he'd be able to fly away from the ice.

"Okay," said Amy, "but be careful."

Tails nodded and cautiously stepped out onto the ice, making sure each step was given equal weight to the last. Amy watched, and suddenly heard a small crack. "Huh...?"

Tails' ears flickered, hearing the same noise, and he froze.

"Um, Tails..." said Amy, "Maybe you should step back a bit..."

Tails nodded and slowly started to inch his way back. But suddenly, his foot broke through the ice and he yelped in surprise.

"Tails, look out!"

He quickly wound up his tails, but wasn't quick enough as the rest of his body lurched forward through the ice.

"Oh no!!" Amy rushed out, but upon hearing the ice crack, backed up a bit. "What do I do, what do I do??" she helplessly cried as Tails clawed against the ice, struggling to keep his upper body out of the water. She looked around frantically and felt her parka pockets for anything. That's when it came to her. "Wait, that's it!" she chimed. She laid on the ice, inched a bit closer to Tails, and pulled out her hammer, holding it out by the head. "Tails, grab the handle!!"

Once the handle was close enough, Tails grabbed hold, and Amy pushed herself up to a knee, hurling the head of the hammer over her own head. "HiyeeeeYA!" she cried as she tossed the hammer away from the lake, throwing Tails with it. He landed in the snowy embankment, shivering but safe.

Amy rushed over, pulling her parka off. "Are you all right?" she cried, wrapping it around the freezing fox.

"Y-y-yeah," shivered Tails, "Thanks to you."

Amy smiled, but quickly frowned. "Looks like we're only going to work with six emeralds instead of seven."

"Don't be so sure," Tails smiled, and held out the Purple Chaos Emerald. "It was under the lake!"

"Wow! Way to go, Tails!" Amy exclaimed, and gave him a peck on the cheek. Tails blushed brightly, steam rising from the parka, and he was warmed up in an instant.

* * *

Sonic let out a low whistle, examining the distance between the cliff he and Santa stood on and the one miles across from them. "That looks like one long fall..." He glanced back up. "The Chaos Emerald's gotta be on the other side. How're we gonna get across?"

"Fear not, Sonic," Santa slipped off his red coat, "I've still got a little Christmas magic on hand." He pulled a small brown bag out of his shirt pocket, tossed his coat into the air, and sprinkled what looked like fairy dust into the sky. The coat magically transformed into a big, red hang glider with white trims.

"Way cool, Santa!"

Santa took a hold of the handles. "Shall we?"

"Let's!" Sonic took hold next to Santa, and the two leaped off the cliff, soaring through the air towards the other cliff. This was going to be a piece of cake...

Except at that moment, Buzzbomber came flying in. "Well, well, look what the hedgehog dragged in!"

"Santa, look out!" Sonic leaned into the hang glider towards the right, just missing Buzzbomber's laser shot. The two maneuvered back and forth, trying to avoid every shot as the bee Badnik gave chase and tried to shoot the duo out of the sky.

"Come back!" he shouted, "By order of Robotnik Clauzzzzzz, you are to be ssssstuffed like a turkey for dinner!"

"Stuff this, bee brain!" shouted Sonic as the hang glider soared into a flip, and came down hard on top of Buzzbomber before he could avoid it, and smashed into pieces,

"Yes!" cheered Sonic.

"No!" cried Santa. Sonic looked ahead and saw they were only a yard away from crashing into the side of the other cliff.

"PULL UP!" the hedgehog and the jolly old man pushed hard on the handles, and they caught an updraft, soaring upwards, just missing the side. They did a wide air flip before soaring over the ground. "We did it!"

"We're not through yet," shouted Santa as he pointed forth, "Look!"

Up ahead was X-Moto, one of Robotnik's racebots from the Mobius 5000, aiming his gun towards the oncoming hang glider. "Where do they keep coming from?!" Sonic growled.

"I've got this one, Sonic!" Santa called as he pulled out his small bag again, throwing it at the robot-motorcycle.

*POOF*

He transformed into a harmless bicycle.

"Cool!" Sonic chimed. Once they were right over it, Sonic let go of the hang glider and landed on the bike. Santa landed right behind him, his hang glider turning back into his red coat, which he slipped back on while Sonic pedaled. "Now we've gotta find out where that Chaos Emerald's at!"

"Coming on our left!" Santa held out his arm and snatched up a dark blue Chaos Emerald from the snow. "Step on it, Sonic! We've got to find the rest and get back to the workshop before take off!"


	5. Chapter 5

Tails, Amy, and all the other elves and reindeer waited patiently at Santa's workshop as Sonic sped in on a bicycle, Santa holding on for dear life on the back. "Hey!" the hedgehog exclaimed, skidding the bike to a halt. In the process, he accidentally kicked up a wall of snow onto the waiting group. "Ooops, sorry..."

Everyone quickly brushed their way out of the snow as Sonic and Santa held up three colorful jewels. "I thought I felt these babies go haywire coming back at the North Pole," Sonic grinned.

Tails returned the smile as he and Amy held out two emeralds each. "We split up ourselves, and found them in no time!"

"Wonderful!" Santa rolled up his sleeve to check his watch, "Now we can..."

He grew silent, his happy face sinking into that of a frown. "Santa?" Sonic grew concerned, "What's wrong?"

"We didn't make it back in time..." Santa murmured, "It's too late to gather back the presents and deliver them in time." He dragged himself back over to the bench and plopped down in hopelessness.

"But Santa," said Amy, "Didn't you say Christmas _isn't_ about just getting presents?"

"Of course," said Santa, "It's all about the joy and the spirit of believing. But what joy is there when the children are let down by Santa?" He suddenly bolted upright, his face stricken with horror. "It's because of the _presents!_ Ohhhh!" he threw his hands in the air, "I'm still thinking the wrong way! This was a waste of time! Christmas can't happen unless people BELIEVE it happens, and they can't do it without the presents!" He buried his face into his hands and began weeping, "I'm been leading them down the wrong path! Ohhh, I'm such a failure!"

Sonic, Tails, and Amy looked at each other, worried. Santa was really losing it! "Look, Santa..." Sonic came over and kneeled in front of him, trying to look him in the face, "Does it really matter what it _is_ that makes them happy? It's the feeling of _making_ them happy. And if we can pull this off, then we're talking some serious Christmas joy!"

"It doesn't matter anyway," sighed Santa, "Chaos Emeralds or not, my reindeer won't be fast enough to deliver over a _million_ presents to every person on Mobius. Not even _you_ would be able to."

"Maybe not as I am now..." a sly grin crept across the hedgehog's face, "but if I use those emeralds, I'll be faster than ever!"

"Really??" cried Tails.

"But Sonic, you've never done that before!" said Amy, "How do we know if it's safe?"

"That's right, Sonic," said Santa, standing up, "Forget about the presents. I don't want you to do anything dangerous to yourself."

"To make everyone happy and save Christmas," Sonic took all the Chaos Emeralds into his arms, "It'll be worth it."

He held the emeralds high above his head, and they began to glow brightly. Sonic closed his eyes as the power of the emeralds began to absorb inside his body. Everyone watched in awe as he was lifted into the air, illuminating the entire area. Suddenly, an explosion of light burst from him, and he let loose a scream in unleashed power.

"Sonic!!" Tails cried in panic, as they all shielded their eyes from the light. Once it died down, everyone looked back up to see a golden figure, hovering in front of them, his eyes shut tight, as if he was afraid to see what had happened.

"Magnificent..." murmured Santa.

Amy's eyes glistened. "He's so beautiful...!"

"Sonic!" Tails called, "Open your eyes and look at yourself!"

Sonic slowly opened his eyes and looked down at himself... "Whoa!!" His blue fur was completely golden, and he glowed and sparkled every inch. He continued examining himself all over, "I've never looked way pay cool!"

"Yes yes, you look wonderful," said Santa, "But now isn't the time to show off! You need to get going before the day is over!"

"One Christmas miracle, comin' up!" the new and improved "Super" Sonic grinned and prepared to race off. "Up... over..." Suddenly, he was gone in a golden flash. "GOOOOooooo---"

He was gone before he could even finish his sentence. Everyone was left astonished as their hero was gone in less than a fraction of a second.

"............ oooooooooooooOOOOOOOOONE!!!!!!!!"

He raced by again, finishing up his sentence. The force of his new speed threw everyone off their feet and they went landing in all different directions.

* * *

"Merrry Chriiistmas to meee," Robotnik sang in the depths of his fortress, huddled by a huge stack of presents under an enormous tree, "Merry Chriiiistmaaaas to meeee!"

He sighed happily, gazing upon the presents, the first time he ever gotten any in his lifetime. This is what Christmas is all about... receiving as many presents as possible, basking in the joy of taking, and sharing the holidays with no one but yourself.

"Ahhh...." he sighed, "Happiness is always so much enjoyable when its based off the misery of millions."

_***WOOOOOSH***_

Robotnik was nearly knocked over by a sudden golden force. "WAAIGH!" he cried as he was spun around rapidly in circles. Once it died down, he rubbed his dizzy head. "What on Mobius was that...? WHAT?!" His eyes bulged when he noticed everything in his den was gone. "What happened here?! Where are my presents? Where are my decorations?!"

He looked upon himself and screamed bloody murder. "_WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?!?!"_

_

* * *

  
_

It was breaking dawn, and the little boy's living room was empty, save for a naked tree. He sat glumly on the couch. Some Christmas this turned out to be....

***WHOOOSH!***

"What the--?!"

A golden flash entered the living room and as quickly as it came, it was gone. And it was as if all those presents, decorations, and a lighted up tree materialized out of nowhere!

"Wow!" he cried. But what did all this? He caught something in the corner of his eye and raced to the window. A golden streak soared through the the orange-purple sky. He never saw anything like it! It was like a shooting star!

"Mom, look, quick!" he called his mother, who quickly joined him at the window and saw the beautiful light show. This was better than any mountain of presents. There was only one person who could have been responsible.

"Thank you, Sonic!" the boy chimed, "And Merry Christmas!"

* * *

A lone echidna sat by the Master Emerald altar, his arms crossed, and eyes on alert. To him, this was just any other day of the year.

"Huh?!" he suddenly jumped to his feet upon seeing a golden light speed right at him and held up his fists, ready to defend.

But it screeched to a halt right in front of him, revealing to be a yellow hedgehog, glowing brightly like a star, and dragging a large brown bag. "Who're you?!" the echidna demanded, his defense still strong.

The hedgehog shook his head. "Knuckles, Knuckles... You mean to tell me you don't remember your old pal?"

He recognized that voice. "Sonic?"

Sonic nodded. "Cool new look, huh?"

"What happened to you?"

"Long story short.... Chaos Emeralds."

"You mean you used the power of the Chaos Emeralds to power yourself?" said Knuckles, "But why??"

"I'd love to stay and tell you my life story, but I've got deliveries to make," Sonic reached into his bag, "Which by the way... Here!" He handed the stunned echidna a big jar of creepy, crawly, black ants. "Merry Christmas!"

"Christmas?" said Knuckles, "But I've never celebrate."

"Doesn't hurt to start now," Sonic smiled.

Knuckles' usual stern manner began to fade, and he looked (as well as felt) very touched. "Gosh.... Thanks, Sonic. No one's ever given me a present before. I only wish I had something to give to you."

The super-charged hedgehog waved his hand. "Don't worry about it," he grinned, "Your knowledge of the Chaos Emeralds really came through for us. So in a way, you helped to save Christmas." He grabbed his bag and waved again at his red friend. "Well, gotta go! Got a few more friends I need to visit!" And in a snap, the gold hedgehog was gone.

Knuckles watched him leave, his jar of ants snugged in his arm, and a smile crept on his face. "Merry Christmas, Sonic!"

* * *

All around Mobius, the yellow streak zipped everywhere, the planet looking as if it was being wrapped in a gold ribbon. Super Sonic was everywhere at every minute, dropping by every home and dropping off every present to every happy Mobian, who could barely make out the figure of the golden hedgehog.

Breezie and Robotnik Jr. received plenty of mistletoe to last them the whole season. 'Da Bearz got their year supply of honey like they ask for every year. Professor Von Schlemmar had gotten the new doo-dads he had seen on TV and practically begged Santa for. The merhogs were given beautiful waterlillies to spread around their underwater kingdom.

Everybody was getting something wonderful to brighten their holiday. The spirit of Christmas was slowly coming back.

Super Sonic just had one last place to stop...

* * *

"ADVANCE THE VIDEO!!!" Robotnik screamed at his small chroney robot, "I want to know who broke through the perimeters and stole all my presents!!!"

"But Dr. Robotnik Claus...."

"QUIT CALLING ME THAT!!!"

"Sorry... Dr. Robotnik. Even our more advanced camera converters weren't able to pick up the image. That gold streak was just too fast. You don't think it was the hedgehog, do you?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Robotnik couldn't keep from screaming, "I built these cameras to pick up Sonic's speed! Not even that horrible hedgehog could move that fast.... Besides, you redundant robot, _HE'S BLUE__!!!!_ Not gold!!!"

***WHOOOSH!!!***

Once again, the golden streak whizzed by, blowing the chroney over and spinning Robotnik wildly into circles. And just like that, he was gone.

"There he was again!!!!" Robotnik bellowed, "Did you get a good picture?!"

"I'm afraid not, sir..." the robot moaned, being stuck head first into a trash can.

"You no-good, brown-nosing little---GAH!!!!" Robotnik turned around to see his den completely filled with coal. "Not again!!!" he roared, "Who is this repulsive, repugnant, annoying little...."

"Sir...?" the robot managed to pluck himself out of the trash can, and pointed at Robotnik. "You seem to have a Christmas card on the back of your head...."

Robotnik stopped belly-aching for a moment, reached back, and grabbed a card that was scotch-taped to his head. "Merry Christmas to the most naughtiest egg-bellied doctor in the whole wide world, Ro-BUTT-nik?!" he read furiously, "From your friendly-neighborhood, super-powered hedgehog, SUPER Sonic?!?! RAAAAIIIGH!!!!" Robotnik screamed in fury, tearing the card into tiny little shreds. "I HATE CHRISTMAS!!!!! But not as much as _I HAAAATE THAAAAAT HEEEDGEHOOOOG!!!!!!!!!"_

_

* * *

  
_

It was now a bright morning as everyone waited at the North Pole, wondering how Super Sonic did with his journey.

Tails ears perked, hearing the familiar noise of sound barriers breaking. "Here he comes, I hear him!"

In the distance came a running hedgehog, no longer gold, but back to his true blue color. He hurried over to the rest and for the first time, he was out of breath and collapsed in front of the group into the snow.

"Sonic!" Amy cried as everyone rushed to his side. She and Tails picked up his shoulders, hoisting him upwards. "Are you okay?"

Sonic struggled to breathe steadily. "That..." he panted, "was..... so...... COOL!" he jumped back to his feet, only to sway and have some of the elves help hold him up. "I have GOT to do that again sometime!"

"Did you deliver every present to the right person?" asked Santa.

Sonic nodded, and winked. "With a few seconds to spare!"

Santa grabbed Sonic around the waist, lifting him up and bear-hugging him tightly. "Magnificent!" he cheered, "You did it!" He placed him back on his feet. "How can I ever thank you?"

"Well you know Santa," Sonic raised a finger, "I always did want a--_ow_!" He was elbowed in the gut by Amy before he could finish. "... I mean, just helping you is a Christmas gift in itself."

Santa laughed, "Oh Sonic, it seems you've finally captured my vision of what Christmas is all about."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Gotta admit, I've never felt this merry on Christmas before."

"I'm glad you think that," Santa smiled and removed his hat, "Because I've been doing some thinking while you were out delivering those gifts, and I've decided that it really is time for me to retire."

Everyone did a double-take. "_What_??"

"Yes," said Santa, "When you've been in this job for as long as I have, you tend to lose the meaning, and that can cause for a big mess like today. But fear not, my friends, I know just the person to take my place! He's jolly, he's generous, and he's just right for the job!"

"Oh no!" Amy cried, "We're not dealing with another fake robot Santa, are we?"

"No no," Santa laughed, "I'm giving this job to the only and only..." He placed his red hat on top of Sonic's head. "_Sonic Claus!"_

"S... Sonic Claus?" Sonic blinked, a bit apprehensive.

"Yes. You've brought Christmas cheer all over Mobius, better than I could have. I couldn't imagine anyone better for the job."

Angie brought over a mirror, and Sonic examined himself in the hat. He began to smile. "You know what? I kinda like this whole Sonic Claus thing!"

Amy bounced over and engulfed Sonic in a tight hug. "Oh sweetie, I'm so proud of you!" she chirped, "Now you can give me _my_ present in person!"

"Whatever happened to Christmas NOT being about presents?"

"Yeah... but a present or two doesn't hurt."

"***AHEM***" Tails grabbed their attention, pointing upwards. The two hedgehogs glanced up to see Angie on the shoulders of another elf, dangling a bit of mistletoe over their heads. Amy clasped her hands together in joy and looked over at Sonic.... who had raced off in the other direction and was now disappearing over the horizon. The pink hedgehog groaned and rolled her eyes.... and then felt a tap on her shoulder. She spun around to face a grinning Sonic.

"Just kidding!" he said as he grabbed Amy, tipped her, and planted a big kiss on her stunned lips. The elfs swooned. Tails turned his head, gagging. Amy was too shocked to do anything. After a while, Sonic finally brought Amy back up and let her go. "Merry Christmas, Ames."

Amy was in a stupefied faze, and couldn't even stand straight. Finally, she sighed and fell backwards into Tails' arms, hearts glazed in her eyes. "Isn't he _grand_?"

"Ho ho ho ho!" Santa laughed, "No doubt this was the best Christmas ever! And now Sonic, won't you conclude us with one of your famous 'Sonic Says' segments?"

"Sure thing, Santa," Sonic turned to you readers, "Remember, kids, Christmas isn't JUST about getting presents." He wrapped his arms around Tails and Amy's shoulders, "It's about being with your loved ones, and spreading joy for the holidays.... even IF getting a present or two doesn't hurt!" He winked, "So have an _extremely_ Merry Christmas, every year of your life."


End file.
